Study shows hybrids, bikes, trains on a roll in Utah

[jpak]

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_9714565

You might excuse Ruben Schoenefeld if he drove one of those giant gas-guzzler sport utility vehicles in these days of $4 gasoline. He's a giant himself.

But Schoenefeld is from Germany, a land that long has economized its transportation, and he looked to do the same when he moved to Utah. Now he folds his 6-foot-9 frame into a little yellow Smart car, the sort of two-seater now taking up half-stalls all across Salt Lake City. When he first sought one in 2005, a dealer told him the brand would never reach this country.

"I guess the gas prices changed that," he said.

Thousands of Americans, including Utahns, are right there in his rearview mirror, looking for a fix to expensive commutes. A survey commissioned by the Civil Society Institute (CSI) this month and released Thursday found that three-quarters of Americans expect to pay $5 a gallon by Labor Day, and more than half are leaning toward a hybrid gas-electric vehicle.

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